POELLATH advises Seven Ventures on sale of Urban Sports Club to Wellhub
Through its investment vehicle Seven Ventures, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (“ProSiebenSat.1”) has sold its minority stake in the sports and wellness platform Urban Sports Club to Wellhub, a leading global well-being platform for companies. With this move, ProSiebenSat.1 continues its successful media-for-equity strategy, while strengthening its focus on the entertainment business. With media-for-equity, ProSiebenSat.1 invests free advertising time in emerging e-commerce companies and, in return, participates in their growth. In 2021, ProSiebenSat.1 acquired a stake in Urban Sports Club through SevenGrowth both through the media-for-equity program and a direct financial investment. The partnership has significantly driven the company’s growth and sustainably strengthened brand awareness through targeted media investments.
The Berlin-based start-up Urban Sports Club is Europe’s leading platform for flexible sports and wellness offerings. Membership provides users access to over 50 sports – from fitness, yoga and swimming to bouldering, dancing and wellness. The offering includes more than 10,000 partner locations across Europe, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal.
Wellhub was founded in Brazil in 2012 under the name Gympass and changed its brand identity at the beginning of this year. Now based in New York, Wellhub primarily targets companies that offer subscription as a benefit to their employees. The fitness service provider offers a comprehensive range of fitness services in cooperation with local studios and trainers. Courses can be easily booked without additional fees through an app.
POELLATH advised Seven Ventures on the sale with the following team:
- Otto Haberstock (partner, lead, M&A, private equity, Munich)
- Dr. Klara Bothe (senior associate, real estate transactions, Berlin)
- Jenan Fur (associate, real estate transactions, Berlin)
